“This jump in sales activity is in line with our latest surveys, which indicate builders are seeing increased traffic and more serious buyers in the market for single-family homes,” said Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del.

“This robust level of new-home sales activity is a good sign that the housing recovery is moving towards higher ground,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Historically low mortgage rates, attractive home prices and firming job and economic growth should keep the housing market moving forward in 2014.”

Regionally, new home sales rose 50 percent in the West, 29.2 percent in the Northeast and 7.8 percent in the South. Sales were unchanged in the Midwest.

The inventory of new homes for sale edged up to 203,000 in August, which is a slim 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace.